Drowning
by kenala-chronicles
Summary: Possible alternative ending to episode 940. When Conan nearly drowns Ran is faced with a strange reality where she is the one being comforted by her charge.


He doesn't even scream. Ran thinks numbly that maybe he was in too much shock to but there's a strange glint in his eye and then a deafening splash as he hits the swollen river. There's a split second of frozen disbelief before her father is cursing, moving towards the edge of the bridge and stripping off his jacket. A sudden blur darts in from her left and their taxi driver, Maki-san, is diving into the water. She breaks the surface almost instantly and starts making her way toward Conan, who is struggling to keep his head up in the strong current.

Maki's dive snaps her out of her numbed mentality and Ran shakes herself. She runs and grabs one of the retractable police lines and bolts down to the riverbank. She vaguely hears her father and the other detectives calling for her, but she pays them no mind. Her only goal is to get to Conan. She runs pace with Maki as the woman cuts through the water like an Olympic swimmer. For one terrifying second Conan goes under but Maki is immediately following him and pulling him back to the surface.

"Maki-san! Catch!" Ran calls, tossing the plastic of the police line out to them.

She tries not to panic at how pale her little charge is, or how his head is hanging limply in Maki's arm. She digs her heels into the soft, rain-bogged ground of the bank and heaves. She nearly slips but then strong hands grab the tape just behind her and she recognizes the voice calling her name. She briefly turns and she and her father nod to one another as the other police detectives grab a hold of the line behind them.

"Pull!" Kogoro roars.

With all of them working together it only takes a minute or so to pull those two ashore. The whole time Ran is fretting. Conan still isn't moving. Is still too pale. How long has it been since he fell in the river? Five minutes? Ten? Longer? She knows time can feel distorted amid crises. She really hopes it hasn't been as long as it felt. When Maki pushes Conan towards her, she doesn't hesitate to bring him into her arms. Immediately she knows something is wrong. He's too limp, too cold.

Carefully laying him on his back, she places a hand on his chest. There's no rise or fall of tell-tale breathing. She sucks in a breath,

"He's not breathing!"

"What!" her father shouts.

Shakily she reaches down to feel for a pulse. It's there but thready and weak. Something in her snaps. Ran's shaking stops as she goes into full crisis mode. She carefully tilts Conan's head back, pinching his nose and giving him two deep rescue breaths. She watches his chest expand and after a couple of seconds does it again. Ran continues this process as her father and the police detectives look on. She can vaguely hear Megure-keibu barking orders but she's too focused on her charge to parse them out. Finally, after what seems like forever, Conan makes a choking noise. Ran quickly turns him on his side as he expels the water from his stomach. He continues to dry heave and cough for several seconds. All the while Ran is rubbing soothing circles on his back and whispering soft praises to him. Hands card through his hair, pushing it away from his face. Finally, his eyes peeled open slowly as he turns slightly to squint at her.

"Ran…?" he rasps.

"I'm here." she murmurs.

Conan lets out a heavy sigh, head drooping. She pulls him back to her chest, carefully cradling him. It takes her a minute to realize he's passed out. But his chest was steadily rising and falling. Ran curls around him and quietly sobs. She had almost lost him today...her precious little Conan. Her eyes find his rescuer's,

"Thank you, Maki-san…" she manages to choke out.

Exhausted but relieved the woman merely nods. The rest of the day passes by in a blur. Someone, probably one of the detectives, had called in an ambulance. She remembers riding in the back with Conan as the emergency personnel monitor his vitals. She also vaguely recalls a doctor telling her that they would keep Conan overnight, just to be safe.

Next thing she knows though her little charge is stirring, his hand minutely flexing against her own. She returns the gesture as he blearily blinks open his eyes. The sun had long since set and it takes a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of his room. His head falls sideways on his pillow. Pale blue irises finding her lilac ones,

"Ran…?" he murmurs.

Reaching up with her free hand, she begins to comb through his hair. Conan sighs softly, leaning into the touch. He squeezes her hand again,

"What happened?" he asked quietly.

"You nearly drowned." she answered, equally quiet, "They're keeping you overnight to monitor you."

He hummed slightly,

"The case?"

Ran stares at him incredulously, how could he be worried about the case when he's laid up in a hospital bed? When he nearly died?

"Otou-san took care of it."

A small smirk crossed his face and the teen found it both familiar and very out of place. Again she's reminded with how similar he looks to Shinichi. Especially without his glasses. Her hand moved down to cup his cheek, her thumb tracing patterns in the skin. Conan's eyes meet her's again. His other hand reaching up to rest on her wrist,

"Are you ok?"

Ran lets out a choked laugh,

"I should be asking you that."

Her charge tilts his head,

"I'll be fine. But you must have been really scared…"

The teen breaks down, unable to help the tears cascading down her face. She curled against the bed, tightening her grip on him. He doesn't say anything. But his free hand moves to her head and she feels him stroke her hair.

"Y-Y-You weren't breathing!" she sobs, "I...I could have lost you!"

"You haven't lost me." he answers softly, "I'm ok Ran...thanks to you."

He holds her as she continues to cry. In the back of her mind she knows she should be strong for him. Conan is just a little boy. He's the one who nearly died and here he is comforting her. And something else vaguely needles at her...he hasn't called her nee-chan once. Not that she minded; it's not something he _has _to do but for a child who has done this the moment he's met her. She finds it...odd, to say the least. She pulls back slightly, resting her forehead against his and breathing out shakily.

"You're...you're sure you're alright?"

Conan laughs quietly,

"This is far from the worst thing that's happened to me. I'll be ok, promise."

Ran's eyes immediately track down to his stomach. Of course, how could she have forgotten? The last time she nearly lost him. She gave her blood to save his life. He blinked as she carefully moved his shirt up, inspecting the small, pale scar that marred the flesh of his stomach. Conan's gaze softened,

"Ran…" he called.

She jumped slightly before slumping over in her chair.

"Sorry...it's just-" she cuts off, shaking her head.

Pulling his shirt back down she curls her arm around his side. Her other arm bending to rest behind her head as she half lays on the hospital bed with him. He gives her a sad smile,

"You can come up here, you know? I don't have an IV in or anything."

Ran ponders the offer, her gaze going unfocused. Conan's smile widens slightly and he scoots away from her, to the other side of the bed. He pats the space it's created,

"Come on."

With a sigh, the teen slips out of her shoes and crawls onto the bed. After making herself comfortable she opens her arms to him and Conan readily pushes himself into her embrace. She pulls the sheets up over them then wraps her arms dutifully around her young charge. His head presses against her chest, small fingers flexing reassuringly against her ribs. She nuzzles into his hair, letting out a puff of breath.

"Goodnight, Conan-kun…"

She feels him smile against her,

"Goodnight, Ran-nee-chan."

She blinks at that before mentally shrugging. That's something she can ponder tomorrow, when she isn't so exhausted. Eyes sliding shut she falls asleep to the steady, pounding rhythm of his heart.


End file.
